OIC-IPHRC strongly condemns the deplorable extrajudicial killings of innocent Kashmiris in Pulwama district of IoK by the Indian security forces and urges the Indian Government to put an end to the human rights abuses

Date:12/16/2018

Jeddah 16th December 2018: The Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) joins the international human rights community in condemning the extrajudicial killings of innocent Kashmiris in Pulwama district of Indian Occupied Kashmir (IoK) by the Indian security forces who indiscriminately opened fired on those peacefully protesting against the human rights abuses and in support of their inalienable right to self-determination. The excessive and arbitrary use of force by Indian forces against innocent civilians, peacefully protesting for their legitimate rights, is deplorable and a blatant violation of their human rights including the right to life, right to freedom of expression, right to peaceful protests and assembly and other fundamental human rights.

The poignant description of the unfortunate and dismal state of affairs in IoK has aptly been captured in the tweet message from Mr. Mirwaiz Omar Farooq, Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (an umbrella of all Kashmiri political parties), which says “As Govt of India (GoI) has decided to kill Kashmiri’s through its Armed Forces who control us…………to ask GoI to kill all of us at one time rather than killing us daily….SOS to all humanity! Kashmiri’s being massacred as Indian forces go on a killing spree”.

The Commission notes that the modern history of Kashmir has become synonymous with insidious systematic and systemic ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Kashmiris where all possible means of violence including mass blinding through pellet guns, rape and molestation against women, enforced disappearances and extra judicial killings of youth are used to quell their legitimate and well recognized demand for self-determination. The objective report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, issued in June this year, aptly covers these violations in detail. The High Commissioner for Human Rights also called for establishing a Commission of Inquiry under UN auspices to comprehensively investigate the confirmed allegations of human rights violations, which are fully supported by the IPHRC.

The Commission also urges the Government of India to abide by its international human rights obligations by bringing an end to the gross human rights violations and allow the international human rights community including the UN and OIC to visit IoK to objectively and independently report on the human rights situation. It also urged the UN, the OIC and the international community to exert pressure on the Indian Government to immediately stop the heavy handedness of its security forces, guarantee protection of human rights of innocent Kashmiris and accede to UN mandated plebiscite for durable peace in the region.